A library of generic algorithms in Ada

It is well-known that data abstractions are crucial to good software engineering practice. We argue that algorithmic abstractions, or generic algorithms, are perhaps even more important for software reusability. Generic algorithms are parameterized procedural schemata that are completely independent of the underlying data representation and are derived from concrete, efficient algorithms. We discuss this notion with illustrations from the structure of an Ada library of reusable software components we are presently developing.